NBW is BJP's conspiracy: Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said that he is seeing BJP’s hand in reviving eight-year-old case against him for leading an anti-Babhali barrage construction agitation in Maharashtra.

Speaking on the floor of the house, Naidu tore into BJP chief Amit Shah’s allegation that it was the Congress that slapped the cases on him.

“Who is in power now in Maharashtra and at the Centre. I checked with my office and we never received those warrants that Shah is talking about, except the recent one. Is this not a conspiracy against me by the BJP as we have severed ties with it,” Naidu said.

Naidu further said that he wondered how the TRS has changed its stand on the Special Category Status. “The TRS was with us till we were partners in the NDA. After the TDP left the alliance, the TRS changed its stand,“ Naidu said indicating a political vendetta against him by the BJP and the TRS.

The TDP has formed a grand alliance with the Congress in Telangana to fight the BJP and the TRS in the upcoming election.

Naidu, who also held a meeting with senior party leaders and officials, weighed different options on facing the NBW (Non-Bailable warrant) issued by a Dharmabad court in Nanded district, which has summoned the TDP chief and 15 others to be present for hearing on September 21. The option of filing a “recall petition” was also considered.

However, many party leaders have advised Naidu not to attend the court and take a legal recourse. However, TDP leaders in Telangana opined that farmers from northern Telangana will form a shield around Naidu if he attends the court for them, a positive development in time for early elections in Telangana.

However, the Opposition YSRCP and the BJP have blamed Naidu for trying to gain political mileage from the Babhali case. “What will the court do if one refuses to attend the court even after sending 25 warrants.

All Naidu has to do is respect the courts and attend,” Botcha Satyanarayana of the YSRCP said. The state BJP also said that there is a conspiracy against Naidu and it was a case that was slapped on TDP leaders by the then Congress government in Maharashtra and at the Centre.